The British government was engaged in internal reforms, and the Vienna government was also busy with internal affairs, but the international conflict did not stop there.

In the spirit of not being able to do what the enemy wants to do, it is victory. The two big bosses have turned on the mutual pit mode again.

The pit is not easy to dig, in the field of pit people, London and Vienna are all grandmaster-level players, and generally the pit can't bury people at all.

The British government was now in a state of intense infighting because of the reforms, but that did not mean that the Vienna government could do anything about it.

Britain and HRE have been facing each other for so many years, and the two countries have long unified their thinking and labeled each other as "enemies".

To this day, there is no Anglophile to be found in Vienna, and there is no Anglo-pro-Austrian faction in the British government. The traditional friendship has long been exhausted in conflicts of interest.

If the Vienna government really did not know how to mix in, it might be forced by the threat of foreign enemies, and the British government would have reached a compromise in advance.

But he didn't do anything, and wasted this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Frederick was not reconciled.

You know, the Viennese government is now not acting against the British; However, the British government's small actions against the HRE have not stopped.

"HRE threat theory", "anti-dumping theory", "freedom and security theory", ...... A series of international hot topics were brewed by the British.

The gossip thing is purely "three people become tigers", once there are too many people, it will not be washed away.

Frankly, Frederick was not afraid of gossip, and that was true of international public opinion as far as the great powers were concerned.

The crux of the matter is that the British are not just rumors, and many things do exist, but with a slight exaggeration.

For example, the "commodity dumping problem" is real. Under the free trade system, the Holy Roman Empire, which was powerful in industry, did take advantage of it and dumped in some areas.

The earliest large-scale commodity dumping was spearheaded by the British, and even went far more so than Shinra.

At that time, the British used cotton cloth as a sharp weapon and dumped it all over the world, which destroyed the textile industry of various countries, and they were not satisfied with making a lot of money, and then they played the opium trade.

In a sense, Britain's glory was built on "colonization", "dumping" and "drugs".

Now to lift this lid, naturally it is not the conscience of the British to find it, mainly in the brutal market competition, they have changed from dumpers to dumpers.

What is sown is the cause, and what is the effect. Britain fell behind in the Second Industrial Revolution, and the emerging industry was completely beaten by the HRE, and some subdivisions were simply blank.

The cotton textile industry, which originally had an advantage, has also been impacted by the national capital of various countries, and its development has not been smooth in recent years.

There is no way, who makes the first step in the industrialization of all countries the textile industry?

It is not so much that HRE is competing with Britain, but that all industrialized countries are competing with Britain.

In contrast, the situation of the HRE is much better.

Whether it is the electric power, internal combustion engine automobile industry, or petrochemical, pharmaceutical and biological, or all kinds of machinery and equipment manufacturing, all need the support of science and technology, and the innate threshold is higher than that of the textile industry.

Countries that have just begun to industrialize simply do not have the capacity to develop deeply in these areas, so naturally there is no impact.

Since they can't eat this bowl of rice at home, the British, who are-stirring sticks, naturally have to flip the table.

It seems that the British are "opposing commodity dumping", but in fact they are paving the way for the "dismantling of the free trade system".

This kind of thing that hurts others and is not beneficial to oneself has been done not only by the British, but also by the Vienna government.

You know, Franz was the first emperor to openly call for a ban on opium, and he led the countries of the world to play anti-drug together.

As a result of this, the drug empire of the British collapsed prematurely. Otherwise, Britain's foreign trade deficit would not be as serious as it is now.

According to the progress of the original time and space, the drug empire of the British gradually collapsed after the opium cultivation industry in various countries developed and diluted the profits with drugs.

Feng Shui takes turns, and now it's the turn of the Vienna government to have a headache. As the world's largest industrial country, the demand for goods sales market is self-evident.

Once the free trade system collapses and the era of trade barriers comes, import and export trade will definitely be greatly affected, which will definitely be a major blow to the economy of HRE.

In contrast, other rumors are not worth mentioning. In this era of the jungle, the "HRE threat theory" has brought not only the suspicion of all countries, but also the deep fear.

I can't make you obey me, and I can't make you afraid of me. In a sense, this shameless spirit is also learned from the British.

It can only be said that the times will change people, and they can also change a country. As the overlord of the times, there is always something to learn from.

No matter how deep the contradictions and conflicts between the HRE and Britain were, it could not affect the Vienna government to learn from the British and how to be a good hegemon.

To be precise, Crown Prince Frederick had to learn from the British, and as for Franz the Great, who was already semi-retired, he was now past the age of learning.

When the Holy Roman Empire had fully achieved hegemony, Franz would officially retire. The question of how to be a good overlord was something that Frederick had to consider.

"When you encounter something that you don't know where to start, hold it first."

Frederick was instilled with this truth from an early age, so patience was not lacking in him. In fact, any guy who has been a prince for more than 40 years will not lack patience.

If you open the history books, you will know that the princes who have a bad mentality usually die early. Compared with many of his peers, Frederick was already lucky, at least taking power ahead of schedule.

You must know that Edward VII, who was also the crown prince, was not allowed to enter politics until he was fifty years old.

As for Prince Charles, who is known as the lifetime series in the future, whether he can survive the super long standby queen is unknown.

Of course, what is even more tragic is that this prince does not even have the opportunity to take power, and all he is waiting for is a rubber crown.

……

Vienna Palace

Foreign Secretary Frankel: "Your Highness, the United States of America has sent a diplomatic note seeking to obtain the right to open the Panama Canal. ”

The "Panama Canal" was excavated by the French decades ago. Unfortunately, while Napoleon III was busy expanding into Italy, Panama fell into Austrian hands.

In the face of an uncooperative colonial government, the excavation of the Panama Canal will not go smoothly. It tossed and turned on and off for several years, and finally ended in the bankruptcy of the Canal Company.

The departure of the French does not mean that the Panama Canal is over. In fact, there were many people within the Holy Roman Empire who wanted to dig this golden waterway.

Unfortunately, whatever kind of excavation plan came to the hands of the Vienna government, it was ultimately rejected.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is a political issue. The capitalists of the HRE have all experienced social beatings and do not have the courage to confront the government.

In the days that followed, the Panama Canal seemed to have been forgotten and never mentioned again.

This situation has continued until recent years, and with the boom of the capitalist world economy, transportation has become an important factor restricting the development of the western states of the United States.

Rail transport could not meet the demand, and sea transportation had to circle the earth half a circle, and the United States urgently needed to dig a canal to shorten the distance between the east and west coasts.

Hearing this news, Frederick smiled and said: "What conditions did the Americans give, they can't have nothing, just want to come over and come over with empty gloves and white wolves, right?" ”

It is necessary to talk about conditions, and pressing the Panama Canal without development is itself a means for the HRE to suppress the development of the Americans.

Now that the U.S. government has opened its mouth, even if it is only a temptation, it is impossible not to open any conditions.

The empty glove white wolf can bully a small country, and playing so much with a hegemonic country is looking for abuse. Not only will it not work, but it will also worsen diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Foreign Secretary Frankl smiled slightly: "The Americans did not give clear conditions, but in the process of contact, their secretary of state hinted.

As long as we are willing to cede the Panama Canal Zone, they will support us in the next battle for supremacy.

Of course, this should be part of the condition, and they should want more.

After all, it is not uncommon for great powers to compete for hegemony, and Americans probably consider themselves important and want to take the opportunity to tear off a piece of meat. ”

Naturally, the United States did not have no purpose in proposing such conditions.

In terms of economic aggregates alone, the United States of America is already the fourth most powerful country in the world after the HRE, Britain and the Russian Empire.

The total amount of industry is even higher than that of the Russians, second only to HRE and Britain. Because of its rivalry with the Confederates, the United States also maintains a Continental Army.

According to the current internationally accepted view, the United States of America is the fifth most powerful country in the world after Spain, and there are even many who believe that the United States is stronger than Spain.

With such a strong family foundation, in the next battle for hegemony between HRE and Britain, the United States naturally has the confidence to stand in line.

This is true at least in the Americas, where whichever the United States supports has an advantage in the competition in the Americas.

Especially in recent years, the continuous co-optation of the London government has made Americans realize their importance and want to take advantage of the opportunity.

There is no doubt that the more buyers the better. The British's bid alone is obviously not as good as the bidding of the HRE and Britannica.

Frederick nodded: "The Americans' appetite is not too big, and they didn't ask us to support their annexation of the Allied States, which should be regarded as restraint."

It's a pity that we don't need them now, and we have no interest in helping them carry the sedan chair and ask for benefits for their British masters. ”

It can be seen that Frederick does not have any good feelings for this kind of two-and-five. The closer you get to the world overlord, the deeper Frederick delves in.

When it comes to choosing allies, Frederick still prefers countries that can be allied with for a long time, rather than those who are destined to rebel.

The Vienna government did not co-opt the United States, not because the United States did not have strength, but mainly because there was a serious conflict of interest between the two countries.

The reason is very simple, once the Holy Roman Empire becomes the world hegemon, it will have a much stronger control over the world than the British.

After all, the British were only sea powers, while the HRE were sea and land powers. Not only is the military strength stronger, but the comprehensive national strength of the HRE is strong.

This is not a bad thing for small and weak countries. At least the Vienna government eats much better than the British, and they don't like to do things, so everyone's small life will be better.

For a regional hegemon like the United States of America, things are not so rosy.

"America's America", go back to sleep first, and when you fall asleep, you will have everything.

If nothing else, at least there is no hope for reunification.

The British wanted to prevent the reunification of the United States, and at most they would support the South with economic sanctions and weapons and equipment; In the case of the Holy Roman Empire, it was to send troops on its own.

In the face of Britain's opponent with little potential, you can still rely on farming to catch up slowly; If you encounter a giant like Shinra, you will have to be pressed all the time.

The facts are all in front of us, so the Vienna government has behaved quite Buddhistly when it comes to wooing allies abroad.

In short, when the British government had finished pulling people in, the Vienna government would directly receive their enemies.

For example, before, the United States was co-opted by the British government, and the Allied States found the HRE themselves, and even the cost of winning over allies was saved.

Although it is slightly weaker in strength, in this struggle for hegemony, the Vienna government itself is not prepared to rely on the strength of its allies, as long as someone follows and shouts.

Prime Minister Chandler reminded: "Your Highness, we should still contact the United States. At the very least, make a very sincere appearance and put pressure on the Union countries.

As far as I know, the Confederates have not been very peaceful in recent times, and have extended their hands to northern Mexico. If you don't knock it, maybe one day they'll invade Mexico again. ”

"Ambition" is such a thing, but every country will have it, it is nothing more than a matter of size.

The United States wanted to reunite, and the Confederates wanted to strengthen themselves. Especially in recent years, the land of the Union has been almost developed, and farmers have set their sights overseas.

If you open the map, you can see that there are only a few neighbors in the Union State, and they have no choice at all.

Frankly, the desire for land is far stronger among the farmers than for the capitalists. For farmers, land is wealth.

In contrast, the capitalists have less demand for land and are more interested in economic interests.

Of course, this is also directly related to the force value. Generally speaking, capitalists are usually more afraid of death, and it is too embarrassing for them to go to war with guns.

After pondering for a moment, Frederick said slowly: "If this is the case, then we will simply grant the right to dig the Panama Canal to the Americans."

Anyway, the canal can't be dug up in a day or two, and we can also put forward some restrictive conditions to delay the progress of the project.

It is estimated that before the canal is opened, the game between us and the British should come to an end.

If the United States really fell against us, and if they were to fall in love with the British, then it would be only natural for us to take back the Panama Canal as punishment for being on the wrong side. ”

The premise of all this is that the HRE wins this battle for hegemony, and the winner has the right to speak. But if you really lose the game, the Panama region will not be able to keep it.

It is not the first time that the Vienna government has done anything about the ownership of the canal. The Suez Canal was originally shared by France and Austria, but after a continental war, the canal had nothing to do with the French.

In the long run, the Panama Canal will be opened sooner or later. Once the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire was stabilized, the Viennese government would likewise dig canals.

This is a matter of interest, and the golden waterways flow not only for gold, but also for the economic lifeline of the Americas.

Holding this lifeline, coupled with the strong strength of the Shinra, there is no way for the Americans to be disobedient.